1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hinged partitions used in livestock trailers such as but not limited to horse trailers. In general, the present partition latch system is related to devices such as may be used to secure hinged partitions which divide the interior of the horse trailer for separating compartments for horses, equipment and so forth. And more particularly, the present invention provides a means to secure a multi-hinged tack room partition with use of one hand in a single operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Trailers, such as commonly found in association of horses and other livestock, are frequently configured to accommodate various numbers of animals in a relatively secure fashion during transportation. To wit, many trailers have movable and securable partitions for taking the area inside the trailer and compartmentalizing the space into desirable areas which may then maximally utilize the given trailer interior floor space.
Frequently, horse trailers position horses across and generally at a diagonal in the trailer such that a rear corner space is optimally designed for storage of equipment associated with horses, often referred to as tack. Hence, it is known to provide a partition which separates a rear corner into a tack room. Furthermore, due to the utility nature of these types of trailers, it is known to take this tack room partition and construct it in a manner wherein the partition can be folded along the side of the trailer, removed, or otherwise repositioned such that the rear corner of the trailer may be used for other purposes. This allows the trailer to be more multifunctional, easier to clean, and provide flexibility of configuration and compartmentalization of the interior.
In the known prior art, partitions throughout the trailer are generally spaced to provide a cubical or stall for a horse to stand which will support the horse and help prevent it from falling or stumbling when the trailer is being moved. It is common for a horse to lean or fall against a partition or event to push and kick the partitions thereby exerting significant force on the partition's latching mechanism. Tack room partitions, therefore, must also provide a sturdy means to hold a horse in a relatively fixed manner on one side of the partition as well as keep the defined tack room space separate such that the horse does not have access to the contents of the tack room.
Also of note, these partitions may include other sets of hinges for generally folding the partition so that it may be collapsed and stored along the sidewall of the trailer. It is known in the art that such partitions may act and be constructed very much like a typical bi-fold door found in residential construction of closets and so forth, but without a guiding track for the distal end. In essence, these partitions are free swinging multiple hinged panels or sets of panels with a first end connected to the sidewall with a hinge and the distal end usually secured or aligned with the center of the rear doors by pins.
Some prior art tack room partitions have used a set of spring loaded bolts to position the partition. Typically the distal end of the partition is secured by a spring activated or biased pin or bolt at the bottom of the partition and another such pin or bolt located at the top of the partition when the partition is in place forming the tack room. The non-distal end is often hinged to the sidewall of the trailer.
These prior art pins or bolts slip into or are generally received by holes or apertures formed in the interior of the trailer with the top pin sliding into a positioning hole in the top or roof of the interior of the trailer and likewise the bottom pin sliding into a hole at the bottom or floor of the interior of the trailer. It is known to place these respective holes in the rear panel frame that generally forms the back portion of the trailer and may include a door or gate structure for letting animals load and unload out of the back of the trailer.
In operation, the tack room partition is swung into position by rotating on the hinge attached to the sidewall. Once the distal end is positioned such that the partition encloses a corner formed by the sidewall and the back wall, the partition distal end is secured by positioning the pins over their respective holes and sliding the set of pins into therein.
Unfortunately, this operation is often cumbersome due to the nature of the construction of the free swinging distal end. As noted above, the distal end is not tracked like typically found in residential construction of closets. Therefore, the user must steady the partition in the desired location without any mechanical assistance and slide the top pin and the bottom pin into a relatively small hole without much clearance.
The operation is further complicated by the size of the partition. The user must first align the partition, hold it in place, slide one pin and then reach to the opposite end to slide the other pin. Although the floor mounted pin is typically constructed such that a user may kick the spring loaded pin into position into the receptacle, the user must still reach the top pin by hand. Needless to say, short or young users frequently can not reach the top pin without assistance of a stool, ladder, or stepping into the tack compartment. Likewise, it is not always easy to see if the pin is properly secured.
Due to this inherit concern, it is not unusual for individuals to fail to secure the top portion of the partition. This may pose a severe safety problem during transportation of the animal as well as create a hazard to the user who mistakenly believes the partition is secured.
Of note, while it is important that the partition latching system is easy to position, it is also of utmost importance that the partition is secured in a stable fashion. Currently, there are no known partitions generally used in association with tack rooms that provide a single step process to align the distal end to a back of the trailer and a convenient means of securing the aforementioned.
Although there are numerous trailer designs and features, the prior art has failed to bridge the gap between user wants and currently available products. Likewise, there is a desire to improve the operation and utilization of tack room partitions. Therefore, an extensive opportunity for design advancements and innovation remains where the prior art fails or is deficient.